A Hephastodite Story
by CainMeetsReality
Summary: Hephaestus and Aphrodite have been leading a dysfunctional relationship. Forced to co-operate on a lethal mission, they realize that they'd been turning a blind eye to their feelings. Will this spell disaster or end in perfect harmony? Or is it too late?
1. The Olympian Council: Aphrodite

**Hi everyone! This story is a collaboration between me – I (dot) Tripped (dot) Over (dot) Reality and Tempest Cain.**

**Call us CainMeetsReality! :D**

**So, since Hephastodite was a couple that was loved by many in my previous fic – Your Guide to The Titan War II: The Last Olympian, here, Tempest Cain and I decided to bring to you a romantic thriller centering around these two gods.**

**I shall be writing Aphrodite's point of view in this story and Tempest Cain shall be writing Hephaestus' point of view.**

**Reviews, feedback and constructive criticism are accepted! Flames aren't appreciated, but okay, go ahead and flame if you want to.**

**This story will be posted on both my account and Tempest Cain's, so don't be alarmed if you see the same fic on FanFiction twice on two different accounts.**

**You can review anywhere, but review replies will be present in all chapters on both accounts, regardless of who's account you reviewed on.**

**Hope you like it!**

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><p>~Aphrodite~<p>

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><p>"Oh, Ares," I moaned as we kissed, cuddled together on my bed. My hands were tangled in his hair as his tongue danced around with mine.<p>

"I'm all yours, babe," he grunted and then started kissing me again, tracing random patterns on my back that made me shiver in delight.

Just as things were getting heated up, we were interrupted.

"Ahhem," someone cleared his throat. I groaned. I knew that voice too well.

"Hermes, go away!" I muttered, my voice unclear as my lips were still on Ares'.

"Its an important meeting at Olympus. But if you don't want to come, I'll tell Zeus you're too busy making out with your boyfriend," Hermes snickered, used to this routine of irritating me. He used to complain that being around my boyfriend and me made him want to throw up. Now, he claims that 'our gross acts don't bother him anymore' and 'he'd unfortunately seen us in "worse" situations'. When I would demand to know what, he'd say he'd rather not go into the details. _Weirdo._

I groaned in irritation. "Fine, we're coming. Now get lost!"

Hermes chuckled like an idiot before breaking the Iris Message connection and Ares glared at him.

Well, Ares glares at everyone. Everyone except me, of course. When he looks at me, he has an expression full of love.

Okay fine, not love. Its _lust_. But what's the difference? Lust is always there with love. Its what makes love so desirable.

For the pleasure one gets, you don't need someone you care about. A pretty face or attractive body is enough.

I mean, look at Ares. He's an ugly, mean and idiotic war – obsessed god. All right, the ugly wasn't a complete truth, but still, its not his face that attracts me.

Its his body.

Well muscled and toned, eight pack abs – he was a hunk. That's why he was my boyfriend.

And along with that, he was surprisingly good at fulfilling my desires.

A little rough, yes, but the body made up for it.

"Lets go, babe," Ares said, and kissed me once again.

"Mmm," I murmured as he snapped his fingers and we were transported to the Olympian council.

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><p>"Thank you for joining us Aphrodite and Ares," said Zeus, his voice steely.<p>

I didn't bother saying 'you're welcome'. He wasn't. I didn't want to be here.

I went and sat in my throne beside Ares and _ugh_… my _husband _Hephaestus.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw his expression full of disgust at Ares and me. I ignored him.

So, you probably think all bad stuff about me, like, she's such a bitch to cheat on her husband, blah blah blah, but you never think about _my _side of the story.

I was _forced _to be married to him – a stupid blacksmith with a deformed face and bad limp. It was an arranged marriage. But how could _I, _the goddess of _love_, suffer through living with someone I don't love? What kind of an example does that set on the world? So, I'm dating Ares, the man – or god, I love.

Thinking about Ares made me think of our children – especially Eros. And then Camp Half Blood, ohmygods! Its such an amazing playground for me and Eros to play matchmakers! Some of the cutest couples were there… Percy – whose love life I'd made horribly hard, and Annabeth – whose confusion entertained me to no end. It was _so _cute how she was confused between Luke and Percy! And yet so jealous of that mortal Rachel Elizabeth Dare. Making that Dare girl have a crush on Percy was so much of fun! I love love triangles! And then there was Hermes' insufferable kid Travis, but I had to admit, some of his and his brother's pranks were absolutely _hilarious_! Yeah, coming back to Travis, his affection for Demeter's girl, what was her name now? Oh yeah, Katie. It was _soooo_ cute! Travis played pranks on Katie just so he could be near her. I had a hard time deciding who was cuter, Percy and Annabeth or Travis and Katie…

"Aphrodite!" our stupid insufferable _king_ thundered, disturbing my thoughts.

"Mmm… what?" I asked.

"Did you just hear _anything_ that was being talked about?" he growled.

"Of course," I replied.

Zeus raised an eyebrow skeptically. "What was it?"

"Um, you thanked me and Ares for joining the meeting?" I replied, biting back a giggle. Annoying Zeus was _so _much of fun. And I always got away with it. Why? Because I could always tell Hera about Zeus' latest affairs. It was pretty amusing.

He sighed, exasperated. "You and Hephaestus have to work together on a mission," he said, a hint of humour lying deep in his voice.

"WHAT?" I shrieked, at the same time that Hephaestus growled, "I can do this on my own."

"You need to work together," said Athena, her voice firm. I glared at her. That irritating snob got on my nerves. Always preaching.

"Can't a demigod go?" I asked uncaringly. Who cared about _them_, unless they were my kids or someone I favoured…

Athena shook her head. "Its too dangerous for them," she said.

I glared at her murderously. "What _is_ this mission?" I snapped.

She launched into the details. "We need to know what Kronos' plans are. He has risen again and will try to overthrow us. He won't make the same mistakes again. We need to plant a bug – a spying gadget – in his lair so we know what he's going to do."

"Why do you need me?" I asked, irritated. I didn't see where this involved me.

"Oh, Aphrodite! Don't you see it?" Artemis exclaimed, all sweet. _Grr… Artemis. Stupid good-for-nothing woman who robs boys of beautiful young girls_.

"You know of course, that every man's fatal flaw is a beautiful woman," she said. I nodded. "And of course, all men includes Kronos. A beautiful woman could charm her way right inside."

I could see where she was getting at. This made perfect sense.

"And there isn't a more beautiful woman than _you – _The gorgeous _Aphrodite _herself!" Artemis cooed, her voice sugarcoated. I was surprised – pleasantly so. Artemis was talking sensibly for the first time in the millennia she'd lived.

"So," Athena continued, putting across the last part of her plan. "What better way than _the _goddess of beauty to sneak in the hidden microphones?"

"Wait! I found a flaw in your plan!" I said triumphantly. Here came a chance to show the stuck-up Athena that _I_ found a problem with her planning.

"And what is that?" she asked, her eyebrows raised, expression dangerous.

"I'm not good with machines. I can't fix up your machines where you want them to be fixed."

"That's exactly why you need Hephaestus," Athena replied. Her slight irritation made it clear that she'd had this talk before with the other gods.

"But how will I get Hephaestus in?" I asked, rolling my eyes. Shouldn't this be _obvious _to everyone?

"You need to pretend you're a couple," said Athena. She continued before I could scream at her. "Pretend you both hate the rest of the gods because they don't give you enough importance. Say you want to join Kronos. He'll welcome you with open arms. If Hephaestus alone goes, he wouldn't be accepted, but your beauty can buy us our way in."

"Can't Ares go with me?" I whined.

"No way," Apollo replied. "He sucks at being a techie! He can't program an elaborate device such as this!"

"Then you come with me," I begged.

"Whoa, no way! I can't do the braniac programming stuff," he replied, raising both his hands in the air in a gesture of Its-Out-Of-My-Depth.

"Hermes?" I pleaded.

"Sorry," he replied. "Like Apollo, I can't do the programming. Hephaestus is the only one who can."

I cursed under my breath. There was a long silence.

"I'm not going," I replied finally.

"WHAT?" everyone but Ares and Hephaestus exclaimed, outraged.

"I – am – not – going," I repeated, making every word clear.

"Why?" Zeus thundered. And I mean literally. Thunder and lightning crackled around him.

"I don't want to," I replied matter-of-factly, checking my perfect pink nails.

I could feel everyone's glares on me, but I was unfazed.

"What's your price?" Athena asked me finally. I perked up at that.

"My price," I repeated, a slow smile appearing on my face.

"Yes," Poseidon sighed. "Your price."

My smile grew into a grin. I'd always though Athena and Poseidon made a cute couple, what with all that bickering…

"You'll have to date him for as long as I like," I giggled.

"WHAT?" Athena and Poseidon screamed together.

"You both will have to date. For as long as I like. Like a proper couple."

I could see the things I'd make them do. An intelligent child with Poseidon's waterpowers and looks would be a great addition to the minor gods…

"NO WAY!" Athena screeched and Poseidon glared at me.

"Then I'm not going," I replied, filing my nails where I'd found a small flaw.

"Athena, Poseidon, please," Demeter pleaded.

Athena glared at the ground defiantly.

"Fine," she spat out.

"What?" I exclaimed, delighted.

"I said _fine_," she replied bitterly.

"What about you?" I asked Poseidon.

"I'll do it. And then I'll kill you," he replied murderously.

I squealed in delight. This would be _so _much fun! And I could play it up a little more…

"I have another two conditions," I announced. Everyone looked at me warily.

"What?" Zeus asked.

"Firstly, a girl from my choice from the Hunters of Artemis will have to date a guy of my choice."

I got a mad Artemis pouncing on me, messing my hair up. It was like a twelve-year-old girl with silver eyes pouncing upon the most beautiful woman alive.

"You –" Artemis started off, but her brother pulled her off me.

"Look what you've done to my hair!" I said, glaring at her and then fixing it back to perfection.

"Artemis," Apollo said, looking her in the eyes. They had some brother-sister understanding and then Artemis resentfully agreed. I think part of the reason he tried to convince her was because he was hoping I'd make him and Thalia date. It wasn't a bad idea…

"What's your last condition?" Artemis growled.

"Oh, that's easily fulfilled. I just want to give infinite people of my choice makeovers," I squealed. This would be exciting!

Artemis looked horrified. She had a reason to be. I wanted to doll her up and make her look feminine _for once_.

"You'll do it just for _one _day," she warned.

"Three," I argued.

"No way!" she exclaimed.

"I won't go with Hephaestus then," I cautioned. Ahh… how I loved this power.

"Fine. Three days," she barked.

"Okay, I'll go with him," I sighed.

Everyone breathed out, relieved.

"Go get ready," Hera told me. "Look as good as you can. And wear something that'll make you look good _and _help you camouflage."

I nodded. That was challenging. And I loved challenges.

"I'll see you later!" I called out.

"Remember, you and Hephaestus need to act like a _couple_," she told me, almost choking with satisfaction.

"I know," I replied, wrinkling my nose in disgust.

And then I skipped away to get ready.

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><p><strong>How was it?<strong>

**Tempest Cain will be posting the second chapter!**

**This has possibilities as a sequel… A Pothena Story. I can feel the creative gears spinning in my head!**

**Anyway, sequels come later.**

**Read and Review!**

**-CainMeetsReality**


	2. The Olympian Council: Hephaestus

**Hello! This is Tempest Cain here.**

**As you read in the previous chapter, this is a collaboration story between me (Tempest Cain) and my friend I(dot)Tripped(dot)Over(dot)Reality.**

**This chapter shall show you, the reader, what happened during the previous chapter, this time with Hephaestus.**

**Thank you:**

**HermesPotter for adding this story to your favourites list!**

**Daughter of Hypnos, GodoftheSeas21 and Hermes potter for adding this story to your Story Alert lists!**

**Reviewers:**

**Daughter of Hypnos: Thank you!**

**Alice: Haha, thanks!**

**Hermes Potter: Thank you! I believe you when you say you love my stories the most :D Here's the awesome next chapter written by Tempest Cain!**

**Itachi: Thanks. Well, Aphrodite**_** will **_**be Aphrodite (shrugs)**

**Disclaimer: ITOR and I do not own the PJO series even though we wish we did.**

**Now enjoy this chapter because I am not one to write long Author's Notes.**

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><p>~Hephaestus~<p>

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><p>I was in my forge again, building my automatons and designing new ones. I turned on my radio and set it to the frequency of the bugs I hid in Aphrodite's room.<p>

There was a lot of static. I fiddled with the dial and voices grew clearer.

"Oh, Ares," said a feminine voice. That had to be Aphrodite.

"I'm all yours, babe," grunted another voice. I rolled my eyes. _Ares_.

There were more kissing sounds. I shut off the radio in disgust.

I am Hephaestus, God of Blacksmiths and Forges. You'd think that I'd be buff and well loved by the ladies but sadly, my _dear_ mother Hera thought differently. She threw me off Olympus when I was born. That made me a cripple for life. Eros thought it would be funny and made me fall for Aphrodite. I am in love with her. Not for her beauty but because I love her for who she is – a goddess of Love. I just don't get what she sees in that boar head. I know he only sees her for her hair and her outer beauty. Working with machines gives me a better understanding of the inside. A machine's true beauty is inside. The love that the creator put into building it. The delicacy of the gears. It's the same with people really.

I continued working on my automaton dove. It was going to be a present for Aphrodite. I bent over and was carefully placing a wire, when a loud knocking sound disturbed me. I limped over to the door. Apollo stood there.

"Yes, Apollo? You know I hate it when I get disturbed," I said irritably.

"I know, but our _dear_ _daddy_ would get angry if you didn't show up for an important meeting in the throne room," answered Apollo.

I sighed. "Fine. I'll be there."

I shut the door in Apollo's face and limped back to my worktable.

ΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩ

I sat on my throne. To be truthful, this 'Oh so important' meeting was rather boring. I picked up my spider automaton and played around with it. I sensed that Athena was getting uncomfortable with it, but I continued anyway.

"Thank you for joining us Aphrodite and Ares," said Zeus.

My head snapped up. Aphrodite was walking in with that...that..._idiot. _I saw her eyes lay on me and for a second, the world stopped. Then I saw the look of disgust in her eyes.

"Vlacas," I muttered to myself. _Of course she hates me. You're crippled remember?_

A nymph came over to me and brought me a glass of nectar.

"You and Hephaestus have to work on a mission together," decreed Zeus.

I nearly spewed my nectar. "W-what?" I stammered.

Zeus rolled his eyes. "I know you have ears, Hephaestus."

I was in shock. Aphrodite and me. On a mission. Together. Alone. No Ares. Just her and me. Saving Zeus's sorry butt.

No, this can't be happening to me. This cannot be happening! Are the Fates playing a prank on me?

I looked at Aphrodite to see what she thought.

She had a vacant expression on her face.

"Aphrodite!" yelled Zeus.

"Mmm...what?" she asked, snapping out of her daydream. I bet she was dreaming about all the couples at Camp Half-blood.

"Did you just hear _anything _that was being talked about?" growled Zeus. It seemed like she was getting on his nerves.

"Of course." She replied.

"What was it?"

"Um, you thanked me and Ares for joining the meeting?" she replied, biting her lip as if stifling a giggle.

Zeus sighed. "You and Hephaestus have to work on a mission."

"WHAT!" she shrieked. "I can do this on my own," I growled.

Though I put up a show of how I didn't care about her not wanting to work with me, I felt hurt. What about me didn't she like? I was a very nice person. All the same, she was very cute when she threw temper tantrums like these.

"You need to work together," said Athena.

"Can't a demigod go?" Aphrodite asked. Apparently, she did not want to do this. I took another sip of my nectar.

"It's too dangerous for them," replied Athena.

Aphrodite glared at her like she wanted to kill her. "What _is_ this mission?" she snapped. Note to self: never get her angry.

"We need to know what Kronos' plans are. He has risen again and will try to overthrow us. He won't make the same mistakes again. We need to plant a bug - a spying gadget - in his lair so we know what he's going to do," said Athena.

My mind was immediately launched into many possibilities for what this bug was going to look like. _Small and powerful? Or big and chunky?_ After a few minutes of debating with myself, I came to a conclusion: A small bug that would be able to camouflage with any of its surroundings. I was working on a software for camouflage for a while now. I meant to install it onto my automatons.

"Fine, I'll go with him," Aphrodite huffed.

I was plunged back to reality. I can't believe I daydreamed for five whole minutes! And in this time, Aphrodite managed to negotiate a price for herself to go on this mission. I was about to stand up and leave, when a hand was clamped over my mouth.

"Come with me and you won't get hurt," whispered a rough, masculine voice.

I slipped off my throne unnoticed. I was yanked behind a pillar and came face to face with my assaulter.

It was Ares. He looked as ugly as usual. He was wearing his favorite biker outfit. He pulled a knife out of his pocket and pressed it against my neck.

"Listen here, punk," he growled. "I am willingly letting my girlfriend go on this dangerous mission."

"And what's your point?" I asked.

"If my girlfriend gets hurt in any way, even if it's not your fault, I will rearrange your face. Are we clear?" he asked, pressing the knife harder.

I gulped, to trick Ares into thinking that I was scared.

"Yes." _Your great ugliness. _I added in my head.

"Good."

Ares removed his knife from my throat and walked away.

I massaged my neck. What a barbarian.

I returned to my throne and watched as Ares sidled up behind Aphrodite. He began kissing her and glaring at me at the same time as if saying - _Remember the deal, punk._

Aphrodite broke off the kiss and skipped away to get ready for the mission. I sighed and got off my throne.

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><p><strong>So? How was it? Was it good? I apologize for the OOCness if you found any. Please tell me your thoughts in a review. Just click the little button down there and review.<strong>

**The next chapter shall be written in Aphrodite's P.O.V by ITOR**

**Until next time...**

**~Cainmeetsreality~**


	3. Partners: Aphrodite

**Hello everyone! **

**Its ITOR again, with the next chapter. I don't have much to say, except I've been out since the past few days and I need to quickly write this chapter, the next chapter for my other stories: **

**-Your Guide to The Titan War II: The Last Olympian (I promised a fast update if I get 65 reviews, I got 79 and its been so many days since I updated!) **

**-Love:Laughter:Change (its been friggin 10 days!) **

**-So close, Yet so far (I finally got rid of the writer's block!)**

**For people who do read the other stories, I am so very sorry. I swear on the River Styx I'll update very soon! (Now you know I'll follow THAT through since I don't want Zeus' master bolt to incinerate me to nothingness)**

**Thanks **_**bonifaco16**_** for adding this story to your Favourite Stories list!**

**Thank you reviewers:**

**LovelyWickedDescet: Thank you very much for all your constructive criticism. I hope you continue reading this. Could you please point out what all made the characters OOC for my benefit? And right, that's true. Details are important. I've tried to incorporate them here. Also, thank you so much for informing Tempest Cain and me about the FanFiction guidelines!**

**HermesPotter: Thank you! Ooh I know how hard all **_**that **_**is. I've had many such withdrawals, stuff like I will **_**not **_**go online and chat with my boyfriend even if that's the only contact I have with him for the whole day unless I've finished my homework. Never worked, lol. Jokes aside, I hope your academic life gets back on track ASAP so you can enjoy FanFiction again! Best of luck with that :)**

**Sabine8195: Thanks! I know :(**

**HermesPotter (again): You know, its that one simple review of yours that got **_**this **_**story up before every other story even though this has been given the least interest. Well, I was going to post this story on this account **_**without **_**a new chapter at first, but then I remembered your review and I was like, "No way, I can't disappoint her **_**again!**_**" And here the chapter is!**

**bonifaco16: Yeah well, when we started writing this, this was the only Hephaestus/Aphrodite romance story in English. The other romantic one-shot was in Portuguese, if I'm not mistaken, and another story had no romance (and was on hiatus/discontinued). I suppose that's why this hasn't been received too warmly, not too many people read Hephastodite! But we plan on changing that =)**

**Sabine1895 (again): Yeah, you're right. I haven't portrayed it clearly, but why she did that was because she wanted to bargain a good deal for herself. I guess I'll try showing that in the coming chapters.**

**Thank you HermesPotter, Ronnie R15 and Godoftheseas for adding us (this account) to your Author Alert lists!**

**And last, but not the least, thank you HermesPotter for adding this account to your Favourite Author's list!**

**Now, without further delay, here's the story!**

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><p>~Aphrodite~<p>

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><p>I scurried into my room, fighting back the despair of going on a mission with stupid <em>Hephaestus <em>by thinking about the challenge in front of me and the fruits of going through this torture.

Well, room probably isn't the right word to use. It was more like my personalized suite.

It was huge and splendidly decorated. It consisted of three rooms - my bedroom, my dressing room, living room and a small kitchen.

I entered through the front door to the living room. The living room, with its high ceiling and pillars decorated with intricate carvings of famous lovers was beautiful. The royal red walls were majestic as was the white marble floor. A white velvet loveseat with silken cushions sat surrounded by soft, comfortable and splendid throne like chairs for any guests who visited me. A statue of Eros – or Cupid, as he is more commonly known, poured crystal clear and ice cold water down the Venus de Milo, which stood gracefully in a corner. The base of the fountain had delicate designs studded with diamonds and rubies.

I didn't stop to admire the Venus de Milo – my favourite statue of me. It was _the _Venus de Milo, complete with the arms and everything. Mortals thought that the one in the Louvre was the original but of course the actual one was in my possession. If they'd see the original, they'd know without a doubt that it's a statue of me, and not Amphitrite or worse still, Artemis. Ugh.

I passed the kitchen with its dim, romantic lighting and walked into my bedroom, gratefully lying down on my bed. The hot pink walls and white furniture and curtains made the room so…sexy. There was no other word for it.

I snapped my fingers and the door to the dressing room opened. I flipped the air with my hand as though I was flipping through the clothes, so the round rack turned, showing me every piece of clothing I owned. I lay on my stomach, ankles crossed in the air, brooding over what to wear.

I knew I'd better wear something black. Black was good camouflage, especially for some place like Mount Othrys, which was made of black marble. It was also elegant. But I needed something to catch Kronos' eye too. I needed to look _extra _good so that I could charm our way in even with Hephaestus' ugliness. I sighed and got up. Might as well start with a perfumed bath.

I walked through the dressing room and the doors closed behind me. I scurried to the very end of the room – it was a hall with mirrors, really. I had had floor to ceiling mirrors installed on every wall, so that everywhere I turned, I could see myself.

Even now, I paused to admire my beauty. I had to admit, it was a foolproof plan. With the way I looked – which was different for everyone, I could totally get anyone in. See, beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder. Beauty is also about perspective, while person A may not find person B beautiful, person C may find B to be the most beautiful person alive. Which is why, I look different to everyone. So you can't say if I'm blonde or a brunette, or if I have blue eyes or black, its all up to who's looking at me.

Now you'd wonder, what did _I _see myself as? Well, I had eyes the colour of lapis lazuli, and by that I don't mean the cheap blue eyes people talk about, my eyes were the exact shade of the deep blue gemstone that my walls were studded with. Oh, right, I suppose I forgot to mention that. The dressing room, wherever the walls were visible, was studded with the finest lapis lazuli there are. And you don't find those in the mortal world. I had blonde hair that naturally waved down my back. My lips were a pale, luscious pink and my lashes long and dark.

So, what did I look like to Ares? What was his idea of 'beautiful'? To him, I was a brunette with impeccably straight hair and bangs that covered my brown eyes, huge… _assets _and a slim frame. I usually wore figure-hugging clothes around him because that's how he liked it. Yeah, the changes could be drastic.

I shook myself out of my train of thought and walked into the bathroom made completely of white marble and precious gems and ran a hot bath for myself. I added some perfume and quickly but thoroughly bathed, letting the scent envelop me. When I got out, I pulled my hair into a slightly messy French twist with a few strands of my hair twisting down the sides of my face. That was Kronos' favourite hairstyle for Rhea, and I had copied it exactly, the only difference being Rhea had brown hair.

"Well, that will be easily fixed," I thought to myself. After all, Kronos would see me as a brunette. And all this dressing up would only strengthen my natural magical beauty in front of his eyes.

I finally got down to the tedious task of selecting my clothing after doing my makeup. I decided that something modern and provocative wasn't Rhea's style, she was more of a dress person, and anyway the hairstyle would only go with something like that.

I ended up in a long black halter neck dress that hugged my figure and had a slit all the way through to the middle of my thigh. The perfect mix of beautiful woman and secretive spy, sweet and sour.

I took one last look at myself in the mirror and took a deep breath.

_I can do this, even with Hephaestus there._

My reflection scowled at me. Hephaestus. Ugh. Pretending to be in _love _with him. Yuck! Disgusting! Its _impossible _for that to happen.

"_Maybe not_," said a voice in my mind.

"_Oh shut up," _I told it.

"_You're wrong."_

"_About what?"_

"_Love and lust are not the same. They're different, and you know it. Lust may accompany love but love doesn't accompany lust."_

"_You don't make sense."_

"_You'll realize someday."_

I shook my head suddenly. I was having a conversation with myself. It just showed how I was going mad at even the _thought _of working with Hephaestus. Well, I'd wasted enough time. I snapped my fingers and disappeared from my vanity room in a _poof_ of pink and perfume.

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><p>"Aphrodite," Ares breathed, staring at me, his jaw almost dropping down to the floor and eyes wide.<p>

"Hi," I giggled. I loved stunning people like this. Their expressions were _so_ amusing!

The time I'd taken to dress up really was working. I could see myself from Ares' eyes, and the look was exactly what I'd desired, except Ares' idea of a perfect body was a little different from Kronos'.

He wrapped his arm around my waist and whispered in my ear, his hot breath tickling me. "You look beautiful. As always."

I turned my face, searching for his lips when a voice interrupted me.

"Oh no you don't!" Hera exclaimed. She pulled Ares away from me.

"Aphrodite needs time to get used to being a couple with Hephaestus," she grinned.

"To _pretend _to be dating him," I said through gritted teeth.

"Yeah, same thing," she chuckled.

"Is not."

"Oh come on here," she said, waving me off. She pulled me to where Hephaestus was standing. He was wearing a tight black t-shirt that clung to his well-muscled body and slightly baggy jeans. They must've been new because they had no signs of grease or paint anywhere. I'd never admit it out loud, but if you ignored his face, he looked hot. He had a better body than Ares, which was saying a _lot_.

I chuckled when I saw him. He was staring at my face with an expression full of awe, admiration and wonder. The one thing that surprised me was he saw me as I saw myself. And in fact, he was the only one who did. Weird…

He scowled at me when he realized I was laughing at him.

"Now, now," Hera cooed. "Don't do that, Hephaestus. Doesn't she look beautiful?"

Hephaestus grunted. "Whatever," he muttered.

Any positive opinion I may have had of him was shattered after that. I gave him my standard disdainful look.

"Listen, you two," said Athena firmly. "This is a mission which you know will save all of our lives. Put your differences aside for once and work together."

"Yeah, don't get in each other's faces," said Hera. "Unless you're going to kiss," she finished, just about choking with happiness at that prospect.

For once, the expression of disgust at two people kissing was worse on mine than on Artemis'.

"Fine," was all I said. I held out a hand for Hephaestus to shake. He looked at me incredulously.

"Hey, I'm not that childish, you know. I understand the dangers we'd have to face if we mess this up and let our problems with each other intervene with this mission. So, we're partners." I said, smiling a small smile.

"In saving Zeus' sorry butt," he added in a low voice as he shook my hand. I giggled.

"I heard that," said Zeus, giving Hephaestus his famous I'm-the-king-of-gods-don't-mess-with-me glare, but he did nothing. I suspected Hera was behind that.

"Go now," said Artemis irritably.

"You're a couple! Remember!" her brother called out, grinning and Ares growled threateningly, but Hephaestus didn't look bothered.

I sighed. This would be tough.

"_Not really," _the irritating, nagging voice in my mind persisted.

"_It will."_

"_Well, if body is all that matters to you, it shouldn't be hard. After all, you said that Hephaestus has a better body than Ares."_

That had me quiet and thoughtful as Hephaestus took my hand and we disappeared in a brilliant flash of light.

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><p><strong>Done! How was it? Tempest Cain will do the next chapter soon. I would've written more but I decided to keep the chapter length around the same. After the next chapter, the <strong>_**real **_**fun will kick in.**

**Since I'll be busy in the upcoming week(s), I'll try writing the next chapter beforehand,but no promises because I have three pending stories to be updated before this weekend as I'm going out (maybe for the whole of next week).**

**Keep the reviews coming! **

**-CainMeetsReality**


	4. Partners: Hephaestus

**Hey everyone, Tempest here. Sorry I disappeared for so long, I was on vacation and yeah. So here's the latest chapter by moi. Enjoy!**

**I Tripped Over Reality's poppin' in here...**

**T-CAIN YOU'RE UPDATING :D :D :D**

**I was dying for the chapter myself! And goodness, I got such an AWESOME surprise :D :D :D You're gonna like this :P**

**I thank you all for waiting sooo long for the next update. And... **

**I'm groaning... our inbox is SO messed up... it'll take a lot of sorting. Imma put up all the thanks next chapter. But thank you to everyone who read, reviewed, added this story to your favourites, added it to your Story Alert lists and added us to your Favorite Author or Author alert lists :D It means so much!**

**Please keep reviewing :D**

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><p>I was on my way to my workshop, when two pairs of hands grabbed me again. They pulled me into a dark room and onto what felt like a chair.<p>

The door slammed shut and the lights flickered on. The main color scheme of the room was orange and yellow. There was a four poster bed with hangings pushed onto the side of the room. Pictures of the sun were everywhere and there were a bunch of guitars on their stands standing in a corner.

"Welcome to Casa del Apollo!" said Apollo, settling into a bean bag.

"Why did you bring me here? I have really important things to do, you know."

Hermes smirked. "Oh, we know. And we also know that you have no sense of style whatsoever."

"And how is this related to my mission?"

Apollo placed his hands behind his head. "Aphrodite, of course! She doesn't like people with no style. She likes fashionable people. People wearing these clothes." Hermes handed him a black shirt and baggy jeans.

"I'm not gonna wear these. No way." I crossed my arms over my chest. Well, at least tried to. "Can you guys please untie me?"

"No."

Hermes dragged me into Apollo's closet.

"Hey! Watch it!" I cried, as he forced the clothes onto me.

"Sorry Phestus." he said apologetically. I was pushed out again, where Apollo was waiting for me, clutching a pair of scissors and a blindfold.

"Hair time!" Apollo laughed gleefully.

"No, no, no, no, NO!" I screamed.

Hermes tied the blindfold onto my face. I heard the tell tale snip of the scissors and began cursing under my breath.

_Why me? Why today? What's wrong with my hair?_

5 minutes later, Apollo (or was it Hermes?) whisked the blindfold off. I was facing a full length mirror.

I had to admit, I did look good. "Wow guys, I-"

Hermes cut me off. "Uh huh, you're welcome. We know."

Apollo rubbed his hands together. "Step one of messing with Ares, done."

He and Hermes high-fived.

"Mind telling me what this plan is?" I asked.

Hermes sat down with a serious expression on his face. "This mission involves Ares, Aphrodite and you. We are going to help you get Aphrodite away from Ares. Why? Because we are tired of Ares bragging about dating Aphrodite all the time. And we know that you will take good care of her."

I sighed. "That sounds great, but Ares threatened to kill me if I steal Aphrodite away from him."

"Yes, but we have a separate plan for that. No, we aren't going to tell you. Goodbye!" Apollo shoved me out of his room and slammed the door.

ΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩ

When I walked into the throne room, I saw Aphrodite there, talking to Hera. Of course, I didn't go over there in fear of disrupting something important. So I stood there awkwardly.

She looked very stunning. Very very stunning. Her dress matched her make up perfectly. I can't really describe it. She was like a breath of fresh air, a glittering diamond in a large rock.

I was so busy thinking about this, I didn't notice that Hera pulled her over next to me. I looked over sideways and felt all those feelings of admiration again. Though, this time, something was different. She was looking back at me. Normally, she'd just look up and down, then examine her nails or something. But now, she actually looked like she appreciated me. _Thanks Apollo and Hermes._

She started laughing at me. I couldn't help feeling a little annoyed at this. Was she playing with my feelings?

"Now, now," Hera cooed. "Don't do that, Hephaestus. Doesn't she look beautiful?"

I had no idea how to respond to that, so I went for the easiest answer. "Whatever."

As usual, it was a mistake. Aphrodite gave me a disdainful look.

"Listen, you two," said Athena firmly. "This is a mission which you know will save all of our lives. Put your differences aside for once and work together."

"Yeah, don't get in each other's faces," said Hera. "Unless you're going to kiss," she finished, just about choking with happiness at that prospect.

Hera choking in happiness was the strangest thing I have ever witnessed. Believe me, I've seen stranger things.

"Fine," replied Aphrodite. She held out a hand for me to shake. I looked at her in shock.

"Hey, I'm not that childish, you know. I understand the dangers we'd have to face if we mess this up and let our problems with each other intervene with this mission. So, we're partners." she said, smiling a small smile.

"In saving Zeus' sorry butt," I added in a low voice as I shook her hand. Aphrodite giggled.

Yeah, I knew she'd laugh.

"I heard that," said Zeus, giving me his famous I'm-the-king-of-gods-don't-mess-with-me glare. I didn't even flinch.

"Go now," said Artemis irritably.

"You're a couple! Remember!" her brother called out, grinning and Ares growled threateningly at him.

Aphrodite had a thoughtful expression on her face as I held her hand and brought her out of the room in a flash of light.

The light faded and we were in a large room. The floor was made of marble and there were columns decorating the sides.

"This isn't the Titan Camp." said Aphrodite. "Where are we?"

I hugged around the waist, her back facing me. "I just wanted to say something before we left, so Apollo and Hermes fixed this room up for me."

She twisted around to look at me. "Well, we're here, so spill."

"You don't have to act so fierce all the time, Aphrodite. We should start acting more like a couple." A waltz began to play softly in the background.

She sighed. "Everyone keeps on telling me that. As if I don't know how to act."

We began to move slowly across the room. "I think you're a wonderful actress. And you look beautiful."

Aphrodite didn't seem to mind the dancing, but when I finished talking, she looked a little surprised. "You think so?"

"Of course I do. Has Ares ever told you that? I bet he's been showing you off like a trophy." I pulled her closer to me.

She was silent for a while. The song ended and we were face to face, noses almost touching.

I had no idea why I did it, maybe it was the moment, but I leaned forward and kissed her on the lips.

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><p><strong>Love the ending? Love the whole story? Click that little button down there and tell us!<strong>

**~Tempest :D**


	5. The Titan Camp: Aphrodite

**:D Three cheers for a quick update :D**

**Not gonna disappoint you now ;)**

**I'll be quick with the A/N. As you know, this is ITOR (or I Tripped Over Reality) writing Aphrodite's point of view. **

**HEPHAESTUS KISSED HER!**

**What will she do? To be quite honest, this is like a roleplay. I never knew Aphrodite was going to be kissed.**

**Well, this just complicates things, eh? ;) I won't make you wait any longer, go ahead and read!**

**Oh and, this may interest you… according to Wikipedia, Nothing Else Matters by Metallica is a waltz song! xD Doesn't that make me laugh! Well, I guess that's right because waltz's are usually in either 3/4 time, 3/2 time or 3/8 time… and this is 3/4 time. :O Cool, huh?**

**Before you read, I want to thank everyone for reviewing, reading, adding this story to your favourites/alerts and adding us to your favourite author/author alert lists :D It means a lot. Thank you!  
><strong>

**Now, enjoy!**

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><p>The light faded. I looked up, expecting to see the ominous black marble of Mount Orthyrs. Instead, the place we were at was completely contrasting. It was made of white marble and decorated with beautiful columns on the side. It was like a ballroom.<p>

"This isn't the Titan Camp," I said. "Where are we?"

I was shocked to feel strong arms wrapping around my waist.

"I just wanted to say something before we left, so Apollo and Hermes fixed up this room for me."

What? Hephaestus wanted to say something to me? What could he possibly want?

_"He loves you_," said the annoying voice in my head.

"_Oh shut up,_" I told it. "_That was Eros."_

Just because he thought it'd be funny, Eros made Hephaestus fall in love with me. He was severely admonished by me and repented it later, but I know he privately still laughs about it.

Before the voice could give me any more infuriating instructions, I turned around and said, "Well, we're here, so spill."

His words took me by surprise. "You don't have to be so fierce all the time, Aphrodite. We should start acting more like a couple."

Just at the moment, Nothing Else Matters by Metallica started playing. It was a beautiful waltz. Hermes and Apollo had certainly done an amazing job. I looked into his sincere face and my expression softened just a little. James Hetfield's deep voice began the first verse.

**So close, no matter how far****, couldn't be much more from the heart **

I sighed. "Everyone keeps on telling me that. As if I don't know how to act."

**Forever trusting who we are, ****and nothing else matters**

I was a great actress. I was _always _acting. I pretended I enjoyed the admiration and envy I got for my beauty, and though I did, I wish someone would see the true Aphrodite, I wish someone would see inside tome. Inside to my real beauty. But no one would ever see what really mattered. **  
><strong>

**Never opened myself this way, ****life is ours, we live it our way **

Slowly, we began to dance across the room. It was a bit awkward, but I found myself enjoying.

"I think you're a wonderful actress," said Hephaestus softly. "And you look beautiful."**  
><strong>

**All these words I don't just say, ****and nothing else matters **

Really? He thought I was a wonderful actress? And he said I was beautiful...

Well, duh. I was the goddess of beauty. But he never let on that I looked good, and it irked me, so this came as a surprise. I wondered if he was just saying these words, or if he really meant them.

**Trust I seek and I find in you, ****every day for us something new **

"You think so?" I couldn't help but ask.

**Open mind for a different view****, and nothing else matters **

"Of course I do," he sighed, sounding content. His tone took on a bitter note as he said the next sentence. "Has Ares ever told you that? I bet he's been showing you off like a trophy."

**Never cared for what they do,**** never cared for what they know****, but I know **

He pulled me close, so close that I could hear his heart beating, feel his even breaths breezing through my hair, see the bands of muscle lying underneath his tan skin. I felt oddly at peace.**  
><strong>

**So close, no matter how far, ****couldn't be much more from the heart, f****orever trusting who we are ****and nothing else matters, **

He couldn't have been more right. Ares _had _been treating me like arm candy, of course he would. Who wouldn't want to show off a beautiful girlfriend?

**Never cared for what they do, ****never cared for what they know, ****but I know **

_"The answer is right here," _said the voice in my head quietly. **  
><strong>

**Never opened myself this way, ****life is ours, we live it our way, ****all these words I don't just say **

For once, I didn't snap back. I remained silent. I'd never in aeons felt this opened up. It felt as if he could read my mind.

**Trust I seek and I find in you, ****every day for us, something new, ****open mind for a different view, ****and nothing else matters **

It felt like there was a deeper meaning to whatever he said, as if he really knew how tiring it was to put up a facade all the time, to lie to yourself that this was you, but to know deep down that you were constantly lying to yourself.

I felt like I'd finally found a friend I could trust with everything, someone who'd open my mind for a different view and take me back to who I really was. **  
><strong>

**Never cared for what they say,**** never cared for games they play, ****never cared for what they do, ****never cared for what they know, ****and I know **

I felt like I'd finally found someone who could see through the facade and see through to me. See that I didn't care for superficial things that people did, didn't care for what they thought they knew about me, didn't care for their petty games and rubbish meaningless sweet talk, because I knew. I knew who I really was. And I think he did too.

**So close, no matter how far **

The song reached its last verse now. We waltzed around the room slowly. Grace while dancing came effortlessly to me, but it was a little hard for him. Nevertheless, he was doing a great job.

**Couldn't be much more from the heart **

I wondered how I'd never seen this side of him before. I'd never felt so close to him. I'd just seen his dirty clothes, scowling face and grumpy attitude, but never seen down to the person inside, to his heart and soul. I had gotten my first glance into him today. **  
><strong>

**Forever trusting who we are **

I felt new, fresh, vulnerable. It was like something rekindled the woman, goddess, whatever you say, deep down, and was bringing her back to the surface. I knew this side of me, but I'd forgotten her long ago.

_This _was the real goddess of love. **  
><strong>

**No, nothing else matters **

I still couldn't put my finger on what had just changed in me, apart from the fact that I knew something was reigniting. As I brooded over that, the last notes of the song haunted the air. I looked up at Hephaestus and realized suddenly that our faces were very close, just inches away from each other. His eyes locked into mine, and in a moment I knew what was coming.

Very slowly, Hephaestus leaned in. I shut my eyes, my breathing growing faster, anticipating the moment his lips would meet mine...

And they did. His lips touched mine very softly, his lips stumbling awkwardly about mine, trying to kiss me properly.

I am ashamed to admit that _I forgot how to kiss_ at that instance. Our lips just pressed against each other, possibly the worst kiss in the history of kisses.

And yet, nothing could have been better. The moment was pure ecstasy. I was on a high I'd never experienced.

We drew back and leaned in again and I muttered, "Properly this time."

I don't know if he heard, but we kissed again, better this time. He tasted sweet and warm and lovely. We pulled back again, breathing fast, looking into each other's eyes.

"_What the heck just happened?_" I asked myself.

"_You kissed him back,_" the voice supplied.

"_I know that,_" I snapped.

What was going on? This was supposed to be some random mission and it had turned into something I couldn't even understand! I didn't love this ugly handicapped god, and here, he'd kissed me and worst of all, _I kissed him back_!

I looked up at him, at the happiness shining in his eyes. I hardened my own and smiled at him.

"Good, you're a very good actor, I must say. Kronos will be completely convinced."

The hurt that shone in his eyes is something I will forever remember. He looked away and released all of me but took my hand.

So quietly that I could barely hear him, he mumbled, "Yeah, thanks. Lets go and get this job over and done with."

And with that we quickly disappeared off to Mount Orthyrs. I peeked at him sideways, only once. His face was stony but his eyes were agonized. My own heart throbbed guiltily.

_What had I gotten myself into?_

* * *

><p>We appeared right in front of Luke - or rather - Kronos. His army of guards instinctively shifted closer, ready to attack us at the first command from their master. I had to roll my eyes. They stood no chance against me alone, much less two gods together.<p>

_"_Aphrodite," Kronos greeted me warmly in his horrible metallic voice. I resisted the urge to cover my ears and smiled charmingly. I was pleased at my success. I looked even more enticing to him than I thought I would. Reluctantly, he turned to the god standing next to me, holding my hand. "Hephaestus. What brings you here?"

"Lord Kronos," he said pleasantly. His acting skills amazed me. He held out his free hand and shook Luke's hand heartily. I gave him a quick hug, which pleased him even more.

"We wish to join your side," I told him. "The gods have no chance of winning."

Kronos raised an eyebrow suspiciously.

"Zeus," Hephaestus said the name with distaste, "apparently thinks that my wife and I are completely useless. Hera never cared for me since I was born. I would love to see him defeated and you ruling, and perhaps giving us an important place in The Golden Age."

_My wife and I. _Hmm...

"Well, that's very well," said Kronos smoothly. "But I'm afraid your story has a few things I don't understand. For instance." He paused to point to our intertwined fingers and asked inquisitively. "How did _this _happen? Last I heard Aphrodite was in a relationship with Ares and the two of you hated each others' guts."

The lie came naturally to my lips. "Oh, well, when we realized we both were being underestimated, we found comfort in each other, became fast friends and then well, love blossomed."

I smiled and leaned my head against his shoulder and he bent down to kiss the top of my head. It was so real that I almost convinced myself.

"Well," the Titan Lord smiled. "I am most pleased to welcome you to our Camp. You'll be well taken care of."

We got down to our knees and said, "Thank you, Lord Kronos."

We rose and Kronos looked pretty gay - and I mean the happy gay. "I shall escort you to your room myself, for you are important members."

I smiled alluringly and we were taken through a maze of corridors that wound around so much that I couldn't remember. I noticed Hephaestus carefully surveying his surroundings, probably planning where to put the little bugs or searching for escape routes.

"Well, this is where you'll be staying," said Kronos, stopping in front of an intricately carved door made of black marble. "I hope you like it."

Hephaestus went ahead and pushed the door to reveal a comfortable looking four poster bed and a room fit for a seven star hotel.

"Do you really intend to stay with that loser?" Kronos whispered to me when Hephaestus went in.

I looked at him from the corners of my eyes and smile bewitchingly. "Of course not! I'll just use him to win the war and then I've got my eyes set on someone else..."

The way I looked at him made it so obvious that he smiled and pecked my cheek boldly.

"Enjoy your stay."

Yeah, right. I would be miserable.

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><p><strong>Done! I updated today :D I planned to continue this and show you what happens after this but... I really wanted to update today and besides, what happens next is better shown in Hephaestus' point of view than Aphrodite's.<strong>

**Three cheers for my first kiss in helping me with the gods' first kiss... sort of :P**

**Like it? Hate it? Review it!**

**~ CainMeetsReality ~**


	6. The Titan Camp: Hephaestus

**And, as promised, here's the next chapter! **

**This is I Tripped Over Reality writing in Hephaestus' point of view because it's high time for an update and Tempest Cain has a busy month. She's later going to do a few of my Aphrodite chapters.  
><strong>

**I want to thank you guys for sticking by us, even though you almost lost faith. Review replies are at the end. And the story continues now.  
><strong>

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><p>~ Hephaestus ~<p>

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><p>I'd expected her to slap me or something. But nothing like that happened.<p>

_Aphrodite kissed me back. My wife kissed me back. _

It wouldn't be a big deal if we'd had a regular husband-wife relationship. Taking into account the kind of disdain she'd always showed me, it shocked me that she was kissing me back.

And not only did she kiss me back. She seemed to be a first timer; she was stumbling about it, just like I was. Now, I knew that she and Ares had gone all the way, so it obviously wasn't her first kiss. Thus, I could only conclude that she'd basically lost her wits and she was so lost that she literally forgot how to kiss.

Even still, that wasn't where it ended.

We drew back. She mumbled something. It sounded a lot like, "Properly this time."

Her encouragement made me feel so good. Maybe my wife really did love me. Because when we kissed, it lacked lust. It was full of love. I swear I wasn't imagining it. Her bubblegum lips; they were so full and soft and delicate, and she'd willingly pressed them against mine. Her arms were wrapped around my neck, her fingers played with my hair and my arms were wound tight around her waist. The air was thick with intensity and emotion.

Finally, we pulled away again. I stared into her beautiful blue orbs - or rather, lapis lazuli eyes, to be precise. I loved her so much. My eyes were warm and soft. I found myself opening up after so long. Something inside me nagged me that this wasn't just Eros' work.

She was staring back at me _lovingly_. Holy smokes. I could've sworn I didn't imagine it.

But the next few moments changed that.

She looked down, her cheeks slightly flushed. I was smiling at her. When she looked up, she smiled back at me, but her eyes were hard.

"Good, you're a very good actor, I must say. Kronos will be completely convinced."

She shattered me.

The moment made me feel like a complete moron. _Vlacas._ She'd played me, and I fell for it. Aphrodite? Love me? I must be dreaming.

But the intensity of the kiss. I couldn't have imagined that. Why would she kiss me in the first place, if she didn't care? It couldn't have been for needs; it had no lust at all.

I looked away to blink back the tears in my eyes. I let her go, but took her hand, because I had to. I willed myself to stay strong and looked back at her, the pain still coursing through my veins.

"Yeah, thanks. Lets go and get this job over and done with."

I stared ahead, mentally crushing all the good feelings I'd just had for Aphrodite. I distanced myself from her as much as I could. I wouldn't let her cause me pain anymore. I'd lived without her for so long, watching her cheat on me with that good-for-nothing _oaf_, and I'd been doing okay. I wasn't going to let this mission affect me.

We were already at Mount Orthyrs. I blocked out all thoughts from my mind.

_The quicker I get this mission done, the faster I can get away from her._

But even still, a part of me didn't want to let go of her hand. A part of me just didn't want to let go.

* * *

><p>We appeared right in front of Kronos, and his bodyguards shifted closer to protect him. Meh. Kronos. That annoying child.<p>

Out of the corner of my eyes, I noticed Aphrodite roll her eyes. Despite myself, I bit back a smile. I could tell what she was thinking. These puny monsters were no match for her alone, much less two gods together.

"Aphrodite," said Kronos, warmth oozing from his voice. I felt my body grow tenser. He seemed to be this close to drooling, what with the way he was leering at her. Luke, that poor boy. Kronos' mind had his body giving out some very tell-tale gestures of how much he was aroused. I suddenly felt sorry for Hermes.

Unwillingly, Kronos turned to me. Well, that was obvious. It didn't affect me. I was so used to it. "Hephaestus. What brings you here?" he asked.

"Lord Kronos," I said smoothly, putting on a gentlemanly facade. I stuck out my other hand - the one that wasn't holding Aphrodite's - and shook Kronos' firmly. Aphrodite hugged him lightly, and Kronos looked positively elated. I tried not to feel disgusted.

"We wish to join your side," she said, after pulling away. "The gods have no chance of winning."

Kronos raised an eyebrow. He clearly didn't believe her. I decided to add substance.

"Zeus," I spat out. It was easy to do that. I had enough resentment against him. But I hated my mother more. Much, much more. "apparently thinks that my wife and I are completely useless. Hera never cared for me since I was born. I would love to see him defeated and you ruling, and perhaps giving us an important place in The Golden Age."

Sue me. I said that on purpose. I liked the sound of the words - "My wife and I".

"Well, that's very well," said Kronos easily, pretending to believe our story. I could till he was curious about something. "But I'm afraid your story has a few things I don't understand. For instance." He paused to point at Aphrodite and my intertwined fingers and asked in a disbelieving manner. "How did _this _happen? Last I heard, Aphrodite was in a relationship with Ares and the two of you hated each others' guts."

Aphrodite covered up smoothly. "Oh, well, when we realized we both were being underestimated, we found comfort in each other, became fast friends and then well, love blossomed."

She smiled and leaned against my shoulder. Just for a moment, I let myself pretend that she meant what she said. Just so that I could act well. I closed my eyes and kissed the top of her head.

"Well." The ghastly lord of Time smiled. "I am most pleased to welcome you to our Camp. You'll be well taken care of."

We fell to our knees and said in unison, "Thank you, Lord Kronos."

We rose. Kronos looked extremely happy. "I shall escort you to your room myself, for you are important members."

And Aphrodite had done her job. Her beauty had bought us our way in. She smiled at him charmingly. It was now my turn to do my bit.

Kronos led us to our room through a winding maze of corridors. I looked around, memorizing every detail and picking out the best places to plant my little bugs. There were plenty such spaces, and I decided on the best ones. The only trouble I'd have would in figuring out _how _to plant them. I pondered upon that.

"Well, this is where you'll be staying," said Kronos, stopping in front of an intricately carved door made of black marble. "I hope you like it."

I was so lost in thought that I hardly heard him. I walked into the room. It was plush. While surveying my surroundings, I realized one issue.

There was just one double bed.

Aphrodite and I would be sharing. Awesome. Could things get any worse? I wouldn't even have the night to myself to let out my grief. I turned around to see what she thought, and what I saw shocked me.

"Of course not! I'll just use him to win the war and then I've got my eyes set on someone else..." I heard Aphrodite say. She looked at Kronos in a revoltingly flirty manner. He leaned over and pecked her on the cheek. I resisted the urge to cut him into pieces and throw him into Tartarus already.

"Enjoy your stay," he said. She smiled back at him.

I turned away. I'd seen enough. I had no doubts that Aphrodite meant what she said. Whether or not she really intended to be with him, I didn't know. The fact that she was using me?

It hit home hard, but I knew it was true.

* * *

><p>Aphrodite and I were just settling into the room. She tried to make small talk, but I only gave her curt, monosyllabic replies. After a while, she just gave up.<p>

"I'm going to go for a shower," I announced. "I'll be out in ten minutes."

She nodded to show she heard me. I went in, glad for the ten minutes away from her. I needed ten minutes to sort my head out. To let go of the hurt I was feeling. To take out my anger.

I let my thoughts flow as the water ran. Finally, I shut it off and went out, getting dressed and getting out.

"You can go now, if you'd like to," I said to Aphrodite.

"Okay," she replied. She seemed to be thinking something.

She took her stuff and went in. I was finally at peace with myself. I'd pushed all thoughts of her away from my head. In doing so, I decided to pay attention to my work.

First, I did a bug-and-magic sweep. I ensured that the room we were in was safe and not being spied on by anyone. After that, I pulled out a paper and a pencil and started sketching out a map of the route Kronos had shown me. It had basically led all around Mount Orthyrs. The beauty of my microphones lay in their simplicity. They were programmed so intricately that they picked up the vibrations of sound even as it bounced off the internal walls of a room. This way, it didn't matter whether or not the mic was placed inside a room or not; the outside walls were close enough.

I "x"ed the spots where I had thought of placing my bugs. At the same time, I realized I'd have to thank Hermes and Apollo for the haircut. It let me concentrate so much better.

I was so lost in my work that it was a full two minutes before I felt someone's gaze on me. I looked up and gave her a small smile. She looked innocent. Perhaps it was because all her makeup had just been washed off and she was dressed in simple clothes. Yet, she was beautiful.

She smiled back at me and came and sat next to me. "What are you doing?"

"Chalking out a plan for where to place these," I said, showing her the small bugs. "They're switched off, so they're black. When I switch them on, you won't be able to see them. Watch." As I did so, the bugs melted away; all you could see was the palm of my hand. Pay closer attention, and you'd notice a very slight bump there. "These bugs have my latest camouflage software installed, so when they're switched on, they're virtually invisible."

I switched it off, and it came back to being visible.

Aphrodite genuinely looked fascinated. "Wow. That's actually sort of genius."

I chuckled. It was basic programming. "Yeah, thanks."

She looked at me in awe, as if she were seeing me clearly for the first time. _Maybe she'd finally realized that the lame ugly bastard who was her husband actually was good for something_, I thought bitterly to myself.

I felt a little uncomfortable. "Right. So, I need your help planting these."

She smiled sheepishly. "I'd do that, except I wouldn't know the technicalities of what to do."

I smirked. I found myself taking on a mean attitude. "I'm aware. That's why I just need you to distract Kronos and his whole fleet. Should be easy for you." I laughed harshly, thinking of what she'd said to the Titan lord. I didn't look at her, but continued speaking. "I need everyone as far away from where I am as possible. I'm going to take twenty minutes in each wing; North, South, East and West. Every twenty minutes, I need you to shift into the opposite direction of my movement. Get it?"

She just nodded quietly. "Let's go."

She exited the room.

For some reason, I found myself cursing and feeling guilty.

* * *

><p>One hour later, our plan was in action. I started with the North wing. Since the place was built in a symmetric manner, I'd decided to plant five bugs in each area in prime locations, with the exception of the West wing. This wing would have seven bugs, because it had Kronos' room and his meeting room as well.<p>

I set to work, fixing my spy devices and programming them, looking over my shoulder every few minutes. I wondered idly about how Aphrodite would be distracting the population of Orthyrs. A wire pricked me. I cursed. Golden ichor flowed.

After that, I concentrated solely on the job. Twenty minutes later, I stealthily moved through the winding corridors to the East wing. Aphrodite had started her party from the South, so now they were moving westward.

I repeated my procedures here, this time with more concentration. Everything went smoothly and according to plan, except for one bug in the South wing. Somehow, it'd malfunctioned and I couldn't fix it. I scowled. This was one crucial source of information left untapped. I moved over to the West wing, knowing I'd need more time there. I'd have to fix and reinstall the bug later, or leave that section of the South wing exposed.

I absentmindedly worked in the West wing. Things happened steadily and stealthily. Finally, I was planting my last bug, the one outside Kronos' room. It was a little tricky, considering that the niche I'd chosen was very weirdly shaped, but that also made it a good hiding place. I sighed in frustration as I worked.

And suddenly I turned.

There was no one there. I sighed again.

It seemed like I was getting way too paranoid.

* * *

><p>After dinner, Aphrodite met me in our room. Our cover for me not going with her was that I felt frustrated about not having had time to tinker with my automatons, so I wanted to be alone. Kronos was more than happy to buy the story, and subsequently, time alone with Aphrodite.<p>

"I've got you dinner," she said, bringing a tray over to me. "I figured you'd be hungry."

I looked up at her in surprise. I hadn't expected it. I smiled warmly at her, touched. "Thanks."

She only smiled back and shrugged. I realized that Aphrodite could be rather nice - if I'd quit thinking of her as anything apart from a work-partner and acquaintance.

"So, how'd the plan go?" she asked me.

"Mmm...what?"

I was so busy eating, I didn't hear her. The food, I had to admit, was amazing, and I was starved. She chuckled. "You eat. We'll talk later."

I shrugged and tried to tell her to Iris Message Zeus from the bathroom and say "Bazinga". It came out more like, "Cuhh yew plase Irs Mausage -"

She cut me off. "Eat and then talk!"

I swallowed. "Yeah um. Bazinga. To Z. Bathroom."

What can I say? Zeus had this recent obsession with the mortal comedy show - The Big Bang Theory. So, he decided that if all was going well, we'd just say "Bazinga". It was all we could risk. If not, we had to say, "Flash."

The king of gods definitely was a little more than an old nutter. He was bat crap crazy. But don't tell him that.

Aphrodite nodded. While she IMed, I wolfed my food down.

"What'd he say?" I asked.

She shrugged. "I swiped the connection as soon as I'd said the word."

I snorted. "Okay." That'd hurt the pompous fool's ego.

* * *

><p>Our time passed by, with me messing around with my bots and Aphrodite reading a Mills n Boon book. I forced myself to not look at her, because she looked very different when she was concentrating so hard on something. She looked serene. She looked like the goddess of love.<p>

"Okay. I'm going to turn in," Aphrodite announced. She quickly shut off the light, staring at something in the distance, blinking rapidly. She suddenly turned her head back. I couldn't see her very well. "Oh, um, you okay with that?"

"Sure," I said, shrugging. I was just bored. I put my stuff away. I lay down, and so did she.

We'd rarely shared a bed in our married lives. It felt so weird doing it at the moment, and yet, not touching her.

"Goodnight, Hephaestus," she said softly.

"Goodnight," I replied.

She squeezed my hand quickly and I couldn't help but let my fingers linger over hers before withdrawing them.

She turned to her side and was quiet. I stared up at the ceiling, trying to fall asleep. I tried shifting positions, but nothing doing. I sighed resignedly and took to staring at the ceiling again and thinking about the events of the day.

Somewhere in the middle of that, I heard sniffling.

My head instantly snapped to my right. "Aphrodite?" I asked worriedly.

She didn't respond.

"Aphrodite."

She ignored me. I touched her face. It was wet. I turned her body to me and hugged her.

"What's wrong?" I whispered.

I hated to see her cry. I couldn't, for the life of me, understand how I could comfort her. I guess that's what you get for being antisocial.

She just buried her head into my chest, hugged me tight, and cried. Her frame shook with her sobs.

I stroked her hair, not knowing what to do.

"Aphrodite..." I began, but she cut me off.

"I'm sorry, I just - this mission...what have I gotten myself into?!" she exclaimed.

I felt sad. Incredibly so. She was crying because she was on this mission and she hated it.

A very likely reason was that I was here.

I hid my grief and continued stroking her hair. "Hey, it's okay. The bugs are in their place. Well, all of them, except one in the East wing. Our mission's over. Tomorrow, we can go back, and you'll be with Ares again, and you won't have to deal with me anymore-"

Great. I was unbelievably amazing. For some reason, she started crying even harder at this.

I sighed. "I'm sorry."

I just stroked her hair, because it seemed to help.

"Please don't be," she said in a small voice. I might have been hallucinating, but I thought I heard her say, "I'm sorry for treating you like I did."

I held her and stroked her back gently. Slowly, she quietened down. She just snuggled into me and slowly fell asleep. I sighed. By now, my eyes were accustomed to the dark. She looked so peaceful. It saddened me to think about how she was mine, and yet she wasn't.

Irritated, I snapped myself out of it. I looked around the room to distract myself. A draft of air blew in from the door and my map flew around and settled onto the ground. I sighed.

_I should pick that up._

I tried to move, but I couldn't do so without disturbing Aphrodite, so I just let it be.

_I'll do it tomorrow. _

Slowly, my eyes closed, and I fell asleep as well, content to hold my wife in my arms.

_Vlacas_.

I wish I'd had my head in the game and done something about the map that had flown about.

Because in all this emotional mess over Aphrodite, I'd failed to notice a very crucial detail, the consequences of which we'd have to face later.

_The door of our bedroom was ajar. _

* * *

><p><strong>Dun dun daaaaa!<strong>_  
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